The Alchemist in Bleach

However, someone else heard these words quite differently...

"Really? Since you're so envious, why don't you ask Ichiro to get one for you, or research and develop one yourself...?"

Hearing the faint voice beside him, Urahara, who was lying on the ground, broke out in a cold sweat. Before he could speak, he heard Ichiro's voice and instantly, a bad feeling welled up in his heart!

As expected, Ichiro did not disappoint him; his first word was a fatal blow!

"Don't even think about my technique; it's impossible to replicate. However, I think your Transcendent Body could be developed in that direction. By the way, those anatomical data you asked me for before weren't for this, were they? You're really something, Urahara! You've really thought ahead!"

"Tenshin Ichiro! Don't make false accusations! When did I ever ask you for any data related to this research?"

"Oh~ so there really is such research..." Yoruichi appeared quietly beside Urahara, exuding a cold aura!

Seeing this, Ichiro smiled slightly and left silently, without taking away a trace of his merit and fame!

"Lord Ichiro, you really are a dog..."

"...When did you become the one who makes sarcastic remarks? Has your role changed that much?"

"Isn't this just like you? The world is a manifestation of a part of your inner self; it might even be etched into your genes."

"Don't try to etch everything into your genes." X 2

Ichiro:..........

With a sigh, Ichiro headed towards the academy. He had rushed here and hadn't even renewed his vacation days yet; now, he had to skip a whole day of classes...

After sincerely apologizing to the teacher, it was already late. Ichiro returned to his dormitory and collapsed onto his bed, not wanting to move. He thought he could finally get a good rest, but he was dragged into being a day and a half of manual labor without any rest...

However, as he gazed at the ceiling, images of his days after entering school gradually surfaced in Ichiro's mind. A slight smile played on his lips, and the leisurely feeling that had grown with the passage of time seemed to be slowly replaced by other things...

Slowly, Ichiro fell asleep, a faint smile on his face.

"Hey~~"

As the light appeared, the figure of the world emerged in front of the bed. After gently arranging Ichiro in a sleeping position, she slowly squatted down by the bed, crossed her hands and placed them on the edge of the bed, resting her delicate chin on them. She quietly watched Ichiro's sleeping face, her smile as beautiful as a spring flower.

"Lord Ichiro, it's so good to be your Zanpakuto..." she murmured, her eyelids gently closing, and faint white light emanated from her body, plunging the dormitory into silence once more.

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Chapter Fifty-One Forgotten Things

"Tsk~ Even after three months of non-stop grinding, I'm still handsome today! Life is always so helpless~"

"Stop talking nonsense, get out of the way once you're done, and also, give me a stab."

"Holy crap, I've lived for over a hundred years and never heard of such a shameless request."

"Stop talking nonsense! Hurry up, or I'll expose your research! And I'll make you... what's that word again? Oh, social death, right?"

Although Urahara's smirking, panda-eyed grin was comical, Ichiro broke out in a cold sweat as soon as he considered the serious consequences of Urahara's words. He quickly walked to the side, picked up the World, and swiftly brought it down!

With a swift stroke, the marks of the beating on Urahara's face were erased.

Sheathing their swords, the two exchanged a knowing glance, a single thought flashing through their minds simultaneously...

'Never go on research with your best friend!'

.......

After their usual argument, the two waited for Yoruichi downstairs at the girls' dormitory as usual, and then went to the classroom together. Except for being surrounded by classmates for a while when they entered the classroom because they hadn't been to class for a long time, everything else was the same as before, a peaceful daily routine.

'This is the kind of student life I should have.'

While thinking this, Ichiro took out his notebook and continued his research on Kido, occasionally turning around to chat with Urahara and the others.

The school hasn't changed much since they left. The only noteworthy thing is that after many years, the college has finally produced another student who graduated early, and it only took a little over a year!

That's right, it's Suzuran Tsuki, who was once Ichiro's classmate for a few days!

Unfortunately, due to Suzuran Tsuki's special circumstances, she didn't finish many of her school courses, essentially being specially recruited into the Fourth Division. Therefore, it wasn't widely publicized, nor did it leave a particularly memorable mark on the school's history.

This is actually normal. After all, Suzuran Tsuki, who suffers from aphasia, is completely unable to learn Kido. As for Kendo, she has no offensive power due to her special perpetual healing Zanpakuto. In other words, her test only covers Shunpo, Hakuda, and Soul Burial knowledge. Moreover, because of her congenital condition, the rule that she should have gotten full marks in all tests to graduate early has been changed to just passing the regular tests.

The reason she joined the Fourth Division was that, whether it was to utilize her abilities or for a better future, the Fourth Division was the best choice for her. After all, only the Fourth Division had the best chance of curing her aphasia.

Soon, the school bell rang. Ichiro, whose mind was still troubled, seemed a little anxious as the teacher lectured. His thoughts kept breaking down. Helpless, Ichiro had no choice but to give up on continuing to study Kido and instead took out a blank sheet of paper and began to plan his future on it, just like he always did.

Although I had discussed it with the team leader before, what I said and what I actually wrote down are ultimately different.

After finishing writing, Ichiro looked at the full sheet of paper and felt a great sense of accomplishment. Now he had a better understanding of his future training. Just as Ichiro was immersed in his reverie, a crumpled piece of paper flew onto the table.

Seeing the familiar shape of the crumpled paper, Ichiro didn't even need to see who threw it; it looked like a QQ number, he knew at a glance it was Urahara. He opened it and saw that it read:

Urahara: What's wrong? You seem a bit distracted. Did you go a little too far with your research before?

Ichiro: Holy crap! Are you a tapeworm?!

Urahara: Roundworms? What's that? Don't change the subject, are you alright?

Ichiro: It's alright, don't worry, I have a solution, and the captain will help me too.

Urahara: Oh, never mind then. Just say the word if you need anything. By the way, speaking of Captain Unohana, don't you go to the Fourth Division for training in the morning? I remember Captain Unohana told you to go in the morning, right?

As he read the contents of the note, a bead of cold sweat slowly slid down Ichiro's forehead...

'Master Xima.......'

He forgot...

It seems like it was arranged with the captain in the morning, and even disregarding the morning part, he didn't go yesterday...

Ichiro: Why didn't you remind me?!

Urahara: How was I supposed to know you forgot? I thought you changed the time.

........

The teacher on the podium watched as notes were being passed around at the back of the classroom, a rare occurrence. She sighed inwardly. If only they could continue asking for leave... But thankfully, their seats were at the back, so it wouldn't affect the other students too much.

After some self-consolation, the teacher continued teaching the other students.

On the other side, Ichiro was slumped against the table, his hands covering his head, looking utterly lifeless, his entire body appearing ashen white...

And so, in Ichiro's despondency, the morning flew by, and soon the school bell rang throughout the entire academy.

"Hey~ Time to eat."

"Hey~" Ichiro replied weakly to Urahara, his hands hanging limply at his sides, his back hunched, following behind them.

Seeing this, Ichiro asked curiously, "Ichiro, what's wrong?"

"Oh, ignore him. This guy forgot Captain Unohana's lesson this morning and is just worrying about the hell that's coming tonight."

"Wow, Ichiro! You actually got to be trained by the captain!" Ichiro clasped his hands to his chest, looking at Ichiro with admiration.

Heh~ Hehe~

"Crack~"

"Haha~ Don't be discouraged~" Yoruichi suddenly patted Ichiro on the back and said gloatingly, "It's just a little bit of punishment, don't worry about it."

"Um... punishment? Isn't this supposed to be a reward?" Looking at the dejected Ichiro and the two gloating figures, Ichio finally realized that this wasn't quite what she had expected...

"Hmm... how should I put it? It wasn't a punishment, it's just that this guy accidentally forgot, and for two whole days, hahaha~"

Ichiro glanced at Urahara and said, "Who do you think it's because of?"

"Hmm? Because of whom?"

Ichiro glanced at Urahara, who was feigning ignorance, sighed, and secretly made a mental note of the matter. He continued to refine the reason he had just come up with. No matter what, he had to give it a try!

A filial son once said, "When faced with trouble, we cannot sit idly by and wait to die!"

........

"Urahara-kun, Shihouin-kun, um, and Tenshin-kun, it's been a long time."

As they approached the cafeteria entrance, a clear voice rang out. Ichiro looked up and saw the young lady of the Kuchiki family carrying a tray, greeting them.

"Yeah, long time no see. By the way, just call me Ichiro. She also has the surname Tenshin." Ichiro straightened up, stretched, and pointed to Ichio beside him.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Tenshin Ichiro. I'd like to greet you, Miss Kuchiki." Ichiro bowed slightly.

"Okay, no need to be polite. We're all classmates at school. I'll head over now. See you later, Shihouin, Urahara, and Ichiro." With that, she carried her tray and walked deeper into the cafeteria.

"Tch~ Such standard aristocratic behavior. He clearly enjoys this atmosphere, but he insists on pretending. Ha~ Aristocrat!" Ichiro shook his head disdainfully and walked to the back of the food line.

“Hey, that’s going a bit too far. The three of us are nobles too.”

Ichiro glanced at the three people standing behind him and said, "You guys are different. You're shady, you're dark-skinned... um... ponytails, and boring single ponytails at that."

"I'm so sorry my hairstyle doesn't suit your taste!"

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Chapter 52 Fullbring

"Ichiro, I'll give you a chance to rephrase your words. What's my name?" Yoruichi's hands cracked as she clenched her fists, her eyes narrowed into slits as she looked at Ichiro with a smile.

"Ahem~ It's my turn. Time to get your food. Wow~ Auntie, the food looks good today! I want this, this, this, and this!"

Upon hearing Ichiro's address, the cafeteria lady, who had been all smiles, immediately turned pale. Her hand, which had never trembled in decades of serving food, suddenly trembled slightly.

Seeing that half the food was suddenly gone, Ichiro fell silent. He glanced up at the older woman's gloomy face, then silently picked up his plate and left...

"Hehehe~ Sister, I want this, this, and this, with more soup." Ichiro, who was behind Ichiro in line, chuckled and asked the cafeteria lady to serve her food with a sweet smile.

It turns out that it's better to be a little sweet-talking. Even though Ichiro ordered one more dish than Ichio, the total amount was actually less...

Looking at the stark contrast on his plate, Urahara shook his head as he sat down opposite Ichiro and said, "I'm really curious. Some of them are even younger than us. How do you call them 'aunties'?"

Not all the staff at the Shinigami Academy are Shinigami. Some of them are recruited from Rukongai. Those with spiritual power are fine, as they have long lifespans, but sometimes they also recruit ordinary people without spiritual power... ordinary souls.

Although ordinary souls in Soul Society don't have to worry about food and drink, being full is only the most basic need for a person's life. The treatment at the Soul Society Academy is quite good, so there are quite a few people applying for jobs there.

In this situation, it's strange that Ichiro calls her "Auntie"...

Because no matter how you calculate it, he's almost a hundred years old (not counting his first life, which is pretty much the same), and he's calling someone in their fifties "auntie"...

No wonder people get angry!

But Ichiro couldn't help it. It had always been his habit. In Ichiro's opinion, the term "auntie" wasn't based on age, but on occupation. Things like shopkeeper, restaurant owner, cafeteria lady, etc., were all "aunties"!

The four chatted as they ate, and after they finished eating, they found a shady spot to sit down and began discussing matters of cultivation.

However, since Ichiro only joined their group of three this year and his talent wasn't particularly outstanding, he mostly listened or asked questions and couldn't keep up with Ichiro and the others' pace.